Fairmont State University - Mound Yearbook (Fairmont, WV)

Page 17 text:

OvJ 5 sSiS ? ji -- •fi EVOLUTION OF THE F. S. N. S. s tion, and, ere another school year begins, the Fairmont Normal will have, for the fourth time, left its outgrown shell for a nobler and better one — one that will be in keeping with the quality of work now being done in the old building. At the beginning of the present school year, the Board of Regents transferred Mr. Woodley to our sister Normal School at Huntington, and, in his place, elected Professor Joseph 0. Rosier, who had for years been Superintendent of the local city schools and had also served as Principal of the Normal during the Summer term. Thus he was, in the beginning, thoroughly acquainted with the Normal School work, and also the needs of the children of the public school. Now, under the direction of Mr. Rosier and a strong faculty composed of twenty- one capable men and women, the Fairmont State Normal School is steadily moving toward the front rank of the normal schools of our nation, and we prophesy that, under the stimulus that will be afforded by the magnificent new buildings and modern equipment, its standard of efficiency will be raised higher and higher until it will become a standard bearer in the educational field of not only West Virginia, but also of the whole nation. 11

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FAIRMONT STATE NORMAL SCHOOL rapid, for in less than twenty years, it had again outgrown its home, and, in 1891, the Legislature again provided for the purchase of new building and grounds. This time, the site selected was on the South Side, and was practically out of town, for Fairmont, at that time, did not extend across Coal Run. The new building was erected the following year, and, on March 27, 1893, the Fairmont Normal School, with mingled feelings of joy and sadness, left its old home on Quincy Street, and moved to the stately mansion, for it seemed that then, on what is now Fairmont Avenue, and is the present home of the Normal. Under the stimulus afforded by a new building and equipment, and under the direction of Professor Barnes and a corps of faithful teachers, the Normal School began another period of development, which was to mark a new era, not only in the history of the Fairmont Normal, but in the educational history of the whole State. Educators were beginning to realize that, if their public schools were to be really efficient, the State must provide trained teachers. Consequently, the first step toward the re-instatement of the Training Department in the Normal was taken in 1905, when the present training school was established and the Educational Department put on a more efficient basis. During the following years, this department has continued to grow in efficiency, and its influence has spread throughout the State. Not long after, the Legislature provided for the erection of a Girl ' s Dormitory, which was opened in the Spring of 1906, with Miss Molly Virginia Smith in charge of the young women. Since then, the Dormitory has not only offered to its occupants a comfortable place to stay and wholesome meals at very low rates, but has also, by means of parties, receptions, and other social affairs, become one of the chief social organs of the school, as well as offering a homelike environment to the girls. In 1910, Professor 0. I. Woodley, who had been actively engaged in public school work in New Jersey, succeeded Dr. Bennet as President. This date marks the begin- ning of an educational awakening in West Virginia, which culminated in raising the standard of efficiency of all the normal schools of the State, through the requirement that all normal graduates should have, in addition to the four year ' s Academic work, two years of thorough training in professional teacher ' s training. Through the co-operation of the local Board of Education, the Fourth Ward School, now known as the Butcher Training School, was organized into a first-class training school, under the supervision of capable teachers, and directly under the Department of Education of the Normal. It was now recognized by the friends of the Normal that its buildings and equipment were not in keeping with its standards, and not even adequate to its needs, for the en- rollment was far too large for the size of the building. After a struggle of more than three years, arrangements were completed for the sale of the old buildings and the purchase of a splendid new site just out of the city limits. There, the main building of a modern school plant, with all up-to-date equipment, is in the process of construc- 10

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Our Last Autumn , OFTLY, silently, one by one, The pretty leaves come fluttering down. Ere the cold north wind begins to roar, Maple and poplar and sycamore Will give their kindly leaves to cover The sleeping flowers and fading clover. All over the green grass, soft and sweet, They spread a new carpet for our feet, And some are yellow and some are brown, These autumn leaves now fluttering down. Swift through the Indian summer sky The flocks of birds go skimming by, High on the gables the sparrows chatter, Then softly down to the ground they flutter. They hop along with no thought of fear, Merry and happy and full of cheer. And here the pretty pigeons come Sailing into their turret home. They coo awhile, then fly away, White and purple, black and gray. Here in the corner the garden lies; Slowly each bright autumn flower dies. There in the heart of the yellow flower, A honey bee bathes in the golden shower; The sunflower nods on its blackened stem- Its head, once golden, has lost its gleam, And the breezes whisper through corn-blades sere, Telling them Winter will soon be here. The pansies that blossomed and cheered awhile Have fallen asleep and ceased to smile. Round the windows and under the eaves, Cling the graceful ivy wreathes; Some are as red as the walls where they cling, Others are green as they were in the spring.)! See! How they drape round the gray stone arch And climb to the windows above the porch— 12